Often called “the living jewel of tropical hardwood hammocks,” the Florida tree snail is found in the United States only in rockland hammocks of extreme southern Florida and the Keys. Florida’s population of snails may have descended from snails floating over on logs from Cuba or Hispaniola. More than 50 color forms with varying whorls of pink, green, yellow, orange and brown evolved in the isolated hammocks of Florida. Some color forms have become extinct from over-collecting and loss of habitat.

Sammy Creek Landing on Sugarloaf Key is a former home site that has been replanted with native vegetation. This rest stop for paddlers or bicyclists is a good spot to check for butterflies attracted to a variety of flowering plants. Visitors can launch kayaks here and explore coastal habitats. Birds are abundant in the marshes, mangroves and exposed mudflats.

Wildlife Spotlight: Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit

Lower Keys Marsh RabbitPhotos credit: Chad Anderson/USFWS

The Lower Keys marsh rabbit, a subspecies of the marsh rabbit, was listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1990, six years after biologist James Lazell determined that rabbit differed from marsh rabbits in the Upper Keys. The Lower Keys marsh rabbit’s scientific name isSylvilagus palustris hefneriin honor of Hugh Hefner, whose Playboy Corporation helped finance Lazell’s research. The future of the Lower Keys marsh rabbit is threatened by loss of habitat, predation by house cats and road mortality.

FWC Facts:Breeding season for Florida black bears is summer, with the peak occurring from about mid-June through July.

Pursuant to section 120.74, Florida Statutes, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has published its 2016 Agency Regulatory Plan.

Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing..